Parsons told the jury: “At some stage whilst living in the UK, he became radicalised. He embraced the ideology of Islamic State.
“And with this came a strong desire return to Somalia and join Isis, to join the Mujahideen – which literally means one who struggles or a fighter – who operate in the mountainous areas near a city called Bosaso, in the north of the Puntland region.
“Indeed, not only was it a strong desire, but Mohamoud viewed it as his duty.”
Mohamoud, of Francombe Grove in Bristol, is from the Puntland area of north Somalia.
Parsons said the defendant made attempts to find a contact to help him join the terrorist group while in the UK but failed, and then booked a return flight to Somalia and flew out on 30 January 2025.
But despite having a return ticket for 3 March, she said, Mohamoud had not planned to come back.
Parsons said: “As messages show, Mohamoud had no intention of returning to the UK. Indeed, he aspired not simply to join Isis, but he aspired to martyrdom.”
She added: “It seems the return ticket was simply to put his family members off the scent.
“His family were suspicious of him, his mother told him she thought he had been ‘brainwashed by Al-Shabaab’, another terrorist organisation operating in Somalia.”